It has been a gold medal filled past two weekend's for Gryphon Athletics, with its women's and men's cross country teams, men's and women's rugby teams and men's soccer team winning the 2021 Ontario University Athletics (OUA) championships.
Men's Soccer
The Men's Soccer Team put an exclamation mark on what has been an unforgettable run on Saturday (Nov. 13). The No. 3-nationally ranked Gryphons capped off an undefeated OUA season with a thrilling 3-2 win over the No. 2-nationally ranked York Lions in the conference championship final. The Gryphons built up a 3-0 lead, and held off a furious push by the Lions late in the game to secure the program's third OUA title in school history, and first since 2016. The game was played in front of 1,160 fans in what was the first OUA men's soccer championship game played on the University of Guelph's campus since 1990. With the win, the Gryphons secure a spot at the 2021 U SPORTS Men's Soccer Championships in Ottawa from Nov. 18-21.
OUA Championship Recap.
Women's Rugby
All season long the message was a simple one for the Women's Rugby Team. Continue to build up throughout the 2021 campaign to make sure they are ready to peak at the right time. On Saturday, November 6 in Kingston, the No. 6-nationally ranked Gryphons did just that as they reclaimed the OUA championship from the Queen's Gaels, defeating No. 2-nationally ranked Queen's on their home field 32-23. This was the Gryphons 17th time winning the OUA title. The team then went on finish sixth at the U SPORTS Championships (Nov. 11-14) held in Kingston.
OUA Championship Recap.
Men's Rugby
It has been nearly half a century in the making, but the men's rugby team did it. For the first time in 47 years, the Gryphon men's rugby team defeated the perennial powerhouse Queen's Gaels on their home field. On November 6, the team earned a 37-28 victory over the Queen's Gaels, giving them their fourth OUA men's rugby title in program history (2021, 2016, 1998 & 1974). The last time the Gryphons beat Queen's
in Kingston was in the 1974 OUA final played at Richardson Stadium (won 14-6 by the Gryphons for the first Ontario title in men's rugby program history). Now, the Gryphons have added their name to the Turner Trophy once again, ending a run of three straight OUA titles by Queen's. The Gryphons will now advance to the Canadian University Rugby Championships, hosted by Queens from Nov. 24-28.
OUA Championship Recap.
Cross Country
One of the most decorated programs in U SPORTS history continued to add even more allure to its name at the 2021 OUA Championships in London (Nov.6). In what was an incredible day of racing full of strong individual runs, the Gryphons claimed a conference banner sweep of both men's and women's cross country gold.
Women's Cross Country
Starting the day with the women's 8km race, the Gryphons could hardly have scripted a better result. Winning their first OUA championship since 2016, while also setting a new OUA team scoring record, Guelph had five runners finish in the top seven of the race, with two of those five being the first ones to cross the finish line. Claiming the top two spots on the podium, 4th-year
Kiana Gibson (29:40) continued her dominant 2021 season winning gold, while teammate
Olivia Roussel (29:47) followed in behind her just seven seconds later to win OUA silver.
OUA Championship Recap.
Men's Cross Country
On the men's side, the Gryphons ran to a second straight OUA banner, and their 18th in the last 22 seasons. Much like their female counterparts, the men's team also dominated the top 10 of their race. With 2019-20 OUA MVP and U SPORTS 1st-Team All-Canadian,
Mitchell Ubene (24:48) leading the way with an individual silver medal performance, the Gryphons ultimately had five of their male student-athletes finish in the top nine of the competition.
OUA Championship Recap.
With their OUA double-banner now secured, the Gryphons will adjust their sights to the U SPORTS Cross Country Championships. With beautiful Quebec City, serving as the setting, the national championship will take place on November 20th.
